My mom and I are on the title of my truck when we bought it at 18. I got a new truck in 2005, and let my mom have the truck to use as she needed at the house. Titles were not modified. She passed away from cancer in 2007. The DMV says the truck is now in my name and my dads name since she died. I've tried for years to buy the truck from but he won't sell it. He doesn't work. He's a broke. He sent several power of attorney docs to me for signature so he could sell the truck. I never signed those either. Again I offered to buy it. He wouldn't sell. As of last late last year, he said he sold the truck.

My question is….how? He claims it was considered abandoned and he can do what he wants with it. He sold it to another deadbeat family member but I never signed a title over. According to the DMV, the title has not yet transferred.

Am I just f-ed? Or is there any case to be made here. I was just hoping for someone with more knowledge to comment. If so, what is the process? If not, then I'll move on with life. I don't want to threaten anything I can't make good on.

Got nothing to add, but that sucks to deal with.

Good luck.

Deadbeats don't take care of anything much less a vehicle. Would you really want it back at this point?

Maybe. Depending on what it would cost to get back.

May be a "juice isn't worth the squeeze" deal.

It was going to be a project for my kids and I now that they are ready to drive. Fix it up, have a vehicle, kind of thing.

It was pristine when I stopped driving it. Maintained, polished. Been sitting under a tree for 7 years.

Find the new deadbeat owner, offer him $200 more than he paid for it. Dad considers it yours, so he won't file a stolen report. Only issue will be when it comes time to sell it. I imagine it will die before that day, so it won't likely ever be an issue.

Did she have a will that specified property and was it probated?

If not, you and your siblings could be the heirs.

A lot of assumptions get made on property after people pass that's not always accurate. Just because the DMV says it's your dads doesn't mean they're correct.

No. No will.

That's an anchor you don't need. Cut the line and move on. Plenty of other vehicles out there your kids can work on.

Just doing some quick math, your mom has been gone for 16 years.
When was the last time you physically saw the vehicle?

I understand time goes by and you don't want to deal with stuff today. I've watched my wife go through this with her father during the past 25 years since her mother's been gone.

While it would be cool to have the same exact vehicle you bought at 18, given the age of the vehicle and the likely condition of the vehicle, it's probably best to move on.

This could be a good opportunity to find out what your father has lined up in terms of his will, assets, or liabilities that you might encounter after his passing. Last year, I at least got my mother to tell me where their wills were located. So as long as they don't die in a house fire, we should be OK. Still working on getting an off-site copy of their wills.

I think the poster above has the right idea…."cut the line". At this point, the things I am looking at saving are just that…things.

I saw the vehicle august of last year. It looked like I expected. It was easily salvageable and serviceable.

As for the will, he has one but he managed to turn a lot of it over to his side piece, who he hates, but still lives there, I don't know. It's weird. Her kids ended up with the truck. And his truck. And our numbers matching one owner classic muscle car we were working on. He sold it all for less than 11,000. That's what really gets to me.

The whole thing just grinds my gears. I'm entitled to absolutely nothing though so I have to keep that in mind and not get too pissed over it.

I don't know for sure, but it seems like there would be some potential liability issues if the title is still in your name, but the car is being driven by someone else.

My understanding is that the title was fully transferred. My signature was forged. He has plenty of historical documents to copy a signature and the dmv is not allowed to ask questions so they told me. If it's signed, it's good. That's the crux of my question.

Break the line.

Be the father and grandfather he never was.

Sorry bud. Sucks but focus on the blessings.

Ciboag96 said:

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Break the line.

Be the father and grandfather he never was.

Sorry bud. Sucks but focus on the blessings.

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Yep.

Done.

Appreciate the replies, guys. It's better to get advice from folks with no emotional influence on it. I appreciate it.

If you were serious about it I'd say you could probably fight it. There's more information needed before I (or another attorney) could tell you for sure. For one thing you may be past the statute of limitations (deadline) for you to file a lawsuit depending on when you found out the various facts. A forged signature can be attacked with a handwriting expert because forgeries are generally pretty poor. But if you're serious about it you'll need to be prepared to spend a good bit of money on legal fees. Talk to a lawyer and decide if it's worth it.

Sorry you're dealing with that. Agree with the posters saying cut the line but I know it's easier said than done.

I think you should probably cut the line as stated above.

But......

If the DMV says the title has not been transferred you could file for a lost title. Take new title that supercedes original title to deadbeat family member. Explain that you will report stolen using the new title as evidence if they don't sell back to you for $200 over what they paid.

Or simply report it stolen if it is still in your name.

Why would he refuse to sell it to you through the years, just to randomly sell it to someone else? At least give you the chance to outbid them if he knew you wanted it.